The Labor enquirer., 1887-05-14
Mr.. povderlv |, declared to have answered


satisfaction Of every member present, and
resolution to that effect was adopted withou
opposition. Even the editor Of the ENQUIRE
IS said to have been satisfied. He acted a
questioner, and sometimes hot discussion
was taken part in by him and Mr.. Powderly
in which the latter came out best every time
One Of the questions asked by the EN-
ouIRER was "For what reason were yo'
cold and unsympathetic in the great South
west strike, and why was it that when armet
assassins shot down your brother knights il
cold blood on the St. Louis bridge, that yo'
did not use the whole resources Of the orde
to see, at least, that their murderers were pun
ished, instead Of ignoring the whole matter
Why was it that you turned your batterie'
against Martin Irons instead Of Jay Gould p
Mr.. Powderly answered this by saying tha
he was not cold or unsympathetic. That ht
was never conferred with in relation to tht
strike; that it was ill-advised, as only 4,oot
Of the 10000 men on the line were organ
lied into assemblies, and that the men were
lily prepared for the contest That from the
first he foresaw that it would not succeed, and
that he visited Jay Gould and Mr.. Hoxie and
tried to compromise the matter as best he
could to get the men out Of the scrape in as
good shape as possible. That he never
turned his batteries on Martin Irons, and
never said an i'll word about him.
To the question: "Why was it that you
ordered off the strike Of the Chicago pork.
packersiagainst Armour when there were two
members Of the Executive Board sent from
the Gsperal Assembly in session charged
with full authority, which two members had
the strike won when your order came ~ he
answered that he did not declare it off, and
that the strike was not won.
Another question was : "Why was it that
you subsequently denounced the boycott,
placed by the Chicago District upon Ar.
mour's goods?" He answered that he did
not denounce it; that it was boycott by q
District Assembly, was never made general
and no request had ever been made to him to
make it general. He condemned local boy.
cots for local or foolish reasons, and said
that they should never be entered into excep,
as last resort, and then only by the advice
Of the Executive Board.
Another question was "Why, sir, did
you not publicly denounce the explosions oil
dynamite which occurred in that strike on the
steamers Of the odd Dominion line ?" TIC
this he answered that the dynamite was
placed in the steamer by agents of the steam
ship company. He denied that he had ever
raised his hat to salute the red flag, and paid
an eloquent tribute to the stars and stripes
saying that it was the only flag he recognized
or would ever salute. He denied that he had
ever been member Of the socialistic labor
party. Regarding the doctrines taught by
Henry George in Progress and Poverty
he advised every one to study them, and de-
MED that he had ever antagonized them. Re.
garding his own belief on economical ques
tons, he said the principles Of the Knights Of
Labor covered them all. He said he was
using all his time and efforts to curb the grea,
monopolies that oppress the people. He did
not have any sympathy to express for the
Chicago anarchists, lut said he had been mis-
represented in the press about his remarks in
relation to the late election there. He had
not declared that he was pleased at the defeat
Of the Labor party ticket in Chicago, and on
the other hand, had never advised its support
He took no part in politics and never would
so long as he remained Master Workman.
1t should never be said that he used his posi-
ton in order to accomplish partisan ends.
Regarding DR.. McGlynn, he had personally
advised him to 60 to Rome as requested by
the Pope, and believe that the result Of his
visit would be to bring the church into haf-
mony with the order. He denounced all
efforts to accomplish reforms by force, and be-
lieved in full and free discussion Of all public
questions, the education of the masses and
conditions Of workingmen to act as unit in
political matters. He advised them to shake
of the political professionals and support
pure, good and honest men.
The result Of the meeting is regarded as an
overwhelming defeat for the Haskell outfit.
Let us have no double games.
Mr.. Powderly, if you are an honest man
you will see to this outrageous breach Of faith
at once. 1t is your business now to at once
ascertain, denounce, punish and expel from
the order for violation Of obligation that
friend Of your side who gave the garbled in
formation contained in the Daily Republican
Honor and common decency it seems to me
demand action from you AT ONCE.
The statements and conclusions in the Re
publican brand as LIES.
Expel, sir, the rascal who made them, or l
shall tell the truth, word for word, as it was
really spoken, your prohibition to the contrary
Notwithstanding.
BURNETrE G.. HASKELL.